Bill Text: NJ S1758 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits water and sewerage service sub-metering in multi-family dwellings to promote water conservation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-03-15 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee [S1758 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S1758-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Permits water and sewerage service sub-metering in multi-family dwellings to promote water conservation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the sub-metering of water consumption in multiple dwellings, and supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Sections 1 through 5 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the "Water Conservation and Metering Act."
2. The Legislature finds and declares that the conservation of water resources is vitally important to the future of our State.
The Legislature further finds and declares that in order to enhance the conservation of water resources, it is necessary to grant specific authority to apartment owners for the sub-metering of water and wastewater disposal service provided to tenants of multi-family dwellings throughout the State.
The Legislature therefore determines that it is appropriate for the Department of Environmental Protection, upon consultation with the Department of Community Affairs, which has extensive regulatory authority over multi-family housing, to adopt rules and regulations governing the installation and use of sub-metering as a water conservation method.
3. As used in sections 1 through 5 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Dwelling unit" means an individual residential unit in a multi-family dwelling.
"Local government unit" means (1) a State authority, district water supply commission, county, municipality, municipal, county or regional utilities authority, municipal water district, joint meeting or any other political subdivision of the State authorized pursuant to law to operate or maintain a public water supply system or to construct, rehabilitate, operate or maintain water supply facilities or otherwise provide water for human consumption; or (2) a State authority, county, municipality, municipal, county or regional sewerage or utility authority, municipal sewerage district, joint meeting, improvement authority, or any other political subdivision of the State authorized to construct, operate and maintain a wastewater treatment system.
"Multi-family dwelling" means any building or structure or complex of buildings or structures in which three or more dwelling units are rented or leased or offered for rental or lease for residential purposes except hotels, motels or other guesthouses serving transient or seasonal guests as those terms are defined in section 3 of the "Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law," P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-3).
"Owner" means the legal titleholder of a multi-family dwelling, including any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or other business concern that purports to be the landlord of tenants in the multi-family dwelling.
"Sub-metering" means the use of a metering device by an owner that receives water supply service or sewerage service from a local government unit or water purveyor, which metering device measures water supplied to a tenant for the purpose measuring the tenant's actual consumption and the charging of the tenant of a dwelling unit separately for water supply service and sewerage service usage.
"Tenant" means a person or persons who is entitled to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others and who is obligated to pay for the occupancy under a written or oral rental agreement.
"Water purveyor" means any investor‑owned water company or small water company that owns or operates a public water system.
4. a. Any owner may provide for sub-metering of each dwelling unit for the total or partial measurement of the quantity of water, if any, consumed by the tenants. Tenants may be billed for water consumption based on the following methodologies:
(1) In the event that the sub-meters measure all of the water used in the dwelling unit, the bill shall be equal to the amount of water consumed multiplied by the applicable water service charges or sewerage service charges, or a calculation based on those service charges, provided that in no event shall the tenants be charged more in total than the owner's total water service charges or sewerage service charges by the local government unit or water purveyor, as appropriate.
(2) Tenants may be charged a reasonable administrative fee that represents the owner's actual costs in administering the billing program, included services provided by a third-party vendor, including an account set-up fee and a reasonable monthly service fee. Tenants that fail to pay the sub-metered bill within the specified payment period, which shall be no less than 15 days, may be assessed a. fee no greater than $25.00 for each late payment.
b. Any multi-family dwelling owner utilizing the authority conferred in subsection a. of this section shall disclose in the lease such sub-metering to each tenant, and shall include a description of the billing method used and list of specified amounts charged for billing fees, late fees, or both, as applicable.
c. All sub-meters installed pursuant to this section shall meet accuracy standards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American National Standards Institute, the American Water Works Association, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, the International Association of Mechanical and Plumbing Officials, or a similar nationally recognized association.
d. Bills sent to tenants shall include the following items:
(1) Opening and closing measurements;
(2) Description of charges and billing method; and
(3) Identification of the billing company, including a toll-free number and website for tenants to use for questions regarding the bill.
e. The cost of the installation of the sub-meter shall not be passed on to the tenant.
f. Water service charges or sewerage service charges relating to sub-metering shall be exempted from any local rent control ordinance governing allowable increases.
g. Sub-metering shall be permitted immediately upon the effective date of this act, and sub-metering technology may be installed at any time during the tenancy, provided that for dwelling units that are occupied by a tenant, sub-metering billing shall not commence until the following: renewal date of the lease, and that statements for six consecutive billing cycles shall have been sent to the tenant by the owner, or the owner's billing company, without charge, informing the tenant what their water service charges or sewerage service charges and administrative fees would have been had the tenant been receiving actual bills.
5. The Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Community Affairs, shall adopt, within 120 days of the effective date of this act and pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B‑1 et seq.), rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits the sub-metering of water consumption in multi-family dwellings to promote water conservation.
The bill permits the owner of any multi-family dwelling to provide for sub-metering of each dwelling unit for the total or partial measurement of the quantity of water, if any, consumed by the tenants.
Tenants may be billed for water consumption based on the following methodologies:
(1) In the event that the sub-meters measure all of the water used in the dwelling unit, the bill shall be equal to the amount of water consumed multiplied by the applicable water service charges or sewerage service charges, or a calculation based on those service charges. However, the tenants shall not be charged more in total than the owner's total water service charges or sewerage service charges by the local government unit or water purveyor, as appropriate.
(2) Tenants may be charged a reasonable administrative fee that represents the owner's actual costs in administering the billing program, included services provided by a third-party vendor, including an account set-up fee and a reasonable monthly service fee. Tenants that fail to pay the sub-metered bill within the specified payment period, which shall be no less than 15 days, may be assessed a. fee no greater than $25.00 for each late payment.
Any multi-family dwelling owner installing a sub-metering system must disclose this information in the lease to each tenant, and must include a description of the billing method used and list of specified amounts charged for billing fees, late fees, or both, as applicable.
Bills sent to tenants must include the following items: (1) the opening and closing measurements; (2) a description of charges and billing method; and (3) the identification of the billing company, including a toll-free number and website for tenants to use for questions regarding the bill. The cost of the installation of the sub-meter cannot be passed on to the tenant.
The bill provides that all water service charges or sewerage service charges relating to sub-metering would be exempted from any local rent control ordinance governing allowable increases.
Sub-metering would be permitted immediately upon the bill's effective date, and sub-metering technology may be installed at any time prior to that date. However, for dwelling units that are occupied by a tenant, sub-metering billing may not commence until the following: renewal date of the lease, and that statements for six consecutive billing cycles must have been sent to the tenant by the owner, or the owner's billing company, without charge, informing the tenant what their water service charges or sewerage service charges and administrative fees would have been had the tenant been receiving actual bills.
